Externalization
by HAL HARV and Watson
Summary: Mulder discovers he has been given an odd gift: the ability to externalize the energy of his central nervous system. The man he is, he decides to train and explore it until it is close to effortless. But he's attracting attention to himself, and a colleague is determined to figure out what's going on. So is it a gift or a curse?


Externalization

"If you believe that, you're the daftest man I've ever met!" Poole declard. Mulder sighed and tried not to get "territorial" about it. He always got frustriated with the "non-believers" as he liked to call them, especially when they were belligerent about it. Scully may not have been in his camp, but she respected his beliefs.

"There's more proof out there than you think."

"I don't know why I'm still standing here! I shouldn't have even come!" Poole threw up her hands and stormed out of the office.

Scully looked at him."You didn't go off on her." It wasn't a question.

"No," he said. "Because I have a case that should shut her up for a bit." He lifted a file off his desk and handed it over. "A few days ago, during the night, a government agent was abducted and subsequently returned a day later."

Scully flipped through the file. "Who was it?"

Mulder gave her one of his smiles. "Me."

* * *

"This is Fox Mulder. Leave a message. _Beep_," The answering machine said. "It's Scully. Where are you? You're sick again, aren't you? I **told** you not to stay out in the rain all night. Call me when you get this, if you can even get out of bed."

The message ended. Mulder looked at Scully. "I wasn't sick."

Scully sighed. This was one of those times. "I don't believe you were abducted."

"Then how do you explain it? I went to bed as usual, and the next thing I knew, I was flat on my back on a lab table with needles in my arm, and I couldn't see anything but white. Then I pass out and wake up back at home."

"You had a dream. A vivid dream."

"Then how do you explain this?" He rolled up his sleeve to reveal a series of bumps on his forearm. "And I found these in my system," he handed over a sheet of paper. "Mutagens, and powerful ones at that."

Scully read the report. They were in fact mutagenic chemicals, and they must have been artifically introduced into his system. "I still don't believe it."

"Didn't expect you to."

He held his hand out in front of his face and focused. Scully gasped. It was glowing.

"But I did expect you to believe it now."

"How-?"

"I have no idea, but I seem able to foucs the energy of my central nervous system and... externalize it." He closed his fist, and a green glowing shaft slowly extended from it. He opened his hand, and it dissipated into a sort of fog that faded into nothing. "I can't explain it at all."

"Well, we can't really be both be hallucinating. Can we?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

* * *

Mulder stood alone on the racquetball court, and he bounced the rubber ball several times. He bounced it harder, and he brought up his energy paddle to smack it against the wall. It had taken him three days to try and manipulate the energy well enough to be able to use it to knock objects. It took much concentration, and he was still struggling with it. He hit it back and forth, and he danced across the court, back and forth. It was automatic, and he was lucky his coordination was good. He was blocking out the sounds, the smells, the sensations. All he focused on was that ball and making contact with it.

There was a familar voice behind him, and it sliced his concentration in two. The energy dissipated, and the ball flew right by him and hit the glass.

"What are you doing?"

It was Poole.

"What do you mean?" He turned around. Who had told her he was here?

"That glowing trick. What is it?"

"It's something I'm working on." He suddenly realized he didn't want to show off. She wouldn't accept it. She wouldn't understand it. He didn't, but he wanted to. She wouldn't give it ten seconds.

"Like what?"

He smiled. "It's a magic trick. I was thinking of doing it at the Christmas party."

She frowned. He bent over and picked up the rubber ball.

"Right."

"I don't know what to tell you." He bounced the ball on the floor.

"The truth would be nice, but I'm not going to get that."

WIth that, she turned and walked off. He sighed and then focued again to reform his paddle. It was best not to let her get the better of him.


End file.
